take a guess
by rubyrose30
Summary: 'At least the misdirection came to be useful in his real life' he chucked bitterly at that thought. Warnings inside.


**Author's Note: This work was inspired by the utter lack of Mayuzumi's reaction after the WC's final match. It's post canon and the personality I gave Mayuzumi was kind of inspired by one of the stories I read on AO3- Masochism in C minor by indevan.**

 **WARNINGS: Cigarettes, smoking and mentions of other reckless behaviours.**

If this new persona of the self-acclaimed Akashi Seijuro expected him to walk back to their locker room along with the rest of the team after the whole post-match stage parading was over, then the captain was up for some more major disappointment on Mayuzumi Chihiro's part. And truth be told, the grey-haired player did not give a flying fuck about that. The treatment that he got from his so-called team mates and _cherished_ captain on court, especially after the third quarter, was downright gut-churning. Chihiro was done with all of those people and happenings for the moment. He needed a breather, and headed in the opposite direction of their locker room in all secrecy.

 _At least the misdirection came to be useful in his real life_ , he chucked bitterly at that thought.

Having visited the stadium on countless occasions, he knew of the places where he could get the privacy he was craving for so much right now. As if on instinct, he went through the doors, turned round some corners and rushed up the set of stairs until he met with a locked door that supposedly led to the rooftop. A few steps in front of the door, he made himself comfortable while sitting on the stairs. His muscles still ached from running around so much on the court, and all the steps he climbed on to finally make it to his spot did not make things any easier for him.

Now that he was finally alone, he let out a deep breath and leaned back. Even though he did not close his eyes(he assumed he had done his dose of drama by coming here itself), he could remember flashes of the final match that went down to their defeat. The drastic changes in his role was tiring as fuck, and those ogres and evil dwarf in his team did not make it easier at all. If anything, his team only managed to rough his feathers and pissed him off to an extent that he did not want to see their face for now.

He did not care if this was the first defeat of that little captain of his team. At least for now Akashi could keep his superiority complex in check. Not that he was going to stick to that group anymore. Mayuzumi was not really the kind of person to actually care about ages and hierarchy and all the show-off etiquettes that usually came along with it. He was definitely not like that thick-eyebrow captain of Kaijo, but at this current moment, he could easily grasp that particular idea. For god's sake, he had a pride! He was so fucking annoyed to be ordered around by a wining-freak first year and to be looked down by those second years did not, in any way, make him feel better. He was the eldest among the regulars, though a new addition, and yet was treated like absolute shit at the end of the day, or should he say, match.

Chihiro forced himself to stop thinking about that. Twenty minutes. Twenty minutes was all he required to calm his nerves and the raging adrenaline urge to go pick a fight with the first human to flash in front of him. He immediately frowned when he heard a lazy rhythm of footsteps coming upstairs. He did not want any company right now. He sighed as he noticed the steps getting louder and louder. It did not take long for the intruder of his temporary personal spot to make his presence known. Chihiro did not like it at all.

"Yo," a familiar voice greeted him. Mayuzumi racked his brain hard to recall the name.

"The fuck, Hayate… The last person I expected to come see a match is you."

Chihiro was not happy with the intrusion, though it was someone with whom he could relax, to some point. Hayate was a… Were they close enough to be considered as friends? Mayuzumi recalled having no friends in particular in middle school. Acquaintance and occasional partners-in-crime, most likely. They were both problematic kids, and from the looks of it, Hayate definitely looked like a delinquent, or at least a big slacker in that loose, lazy attire. The piercings on his ears and right eyebrow, along with his lose garments definitely showcased his carefree personality.

"Fucking glad I came though," the black haired boy countered.

Chihiro could only snort at such a reply. The boy was trying to play on his nerves, but he was not falling for any of it.

"Fuck off."

"You can't get rid of me so easily, y'know," Hayate sighed while replying.

Chihiro instantly relaxed as he listened to the other. To be completely honest, he expected no one on his part to come assist the match, family and non-existent friends included. The fact that the kid with whom he spent most of his detention time during middle school actually came to see the match today slightly surprised Chihiro. He was still unsure how he felt about that. Scratch that. He felt like a pathetic, sore loser trash after a second thought. He allowed himself to be kicked around by his juniors in front of a cheering crowd. And to worsen it all, it was no more a crowd of hopeless strangers now, not after he knew that Hayate was there. He had been pushed over and humiliated in front if someone he knew.

"I ain't got time for a pity party. Go home, boy,"the tired player ushered back.

It was not like Hayate was bothering him, but he could really appreciate some alone time right now.

"Don't try to fool me," Hayate showed no signs of going back.

"I just don't want to see _their_ faces for some time," the player confessed. It was completely futile to lie to that brat.

"A cool off session then… Imma stick around," Hayate continued.

"Won't they look for you?" the black-haired boy probed.

"No shit, Sherlock," Chihiro deadpanned.

Was it still not clear enough after the match that the team gave no shit about him? All they cared about was their own goddamned victory, which truth be told, he was very glad that they did not get. Not after treating him as some pathetic little tool to make passes. Mayuzumi had felt like being used a lot of time in his short life, but it never hurt his pride so bad like this time. This was a blow to the pride that he so liked to clutch to, and that too from little brats that were probably experiencing a sense a failure for the first time. Fuck them all, those little kids being put on a high pedestal. He needed no stuck-up snobs in his life.

"Fuck you, Watson," Hayate retorted back.

Chihiro lifted his head up in surprise at the familiar retort. Hayate was a complete airhead with a short fuse which usually blew up whenever the grey-haired boy replied to his obvious statements with a "no shit, Sherlock". If he was not wrong, they also brawled with each other because of such petty reasons at times. It has been three years since they saw each other, not even one text exchanged in between. Chihiro was not sure if he had his phone number. He could not prevent the chuckles from escaping his mouth as he took in that retort.

Hayate also joined in the giggling quest and both teen soon found themselves laughing out loud. This whole situation was all too ridiculous for Mayuzumi to maintain his usual stoic face. Why the fuck was Hayate, of all the people he knew…which on second thought was not much but still, why would that delinquent be the one spending time with him after his humiliating defeat?

"All kidding aside though, are you fine?" Hayate sound slightly more serious.

Mayuzumi scoffed at the sudden display of concern. Sure he was pissed off and waiting for this pressing urge to punch every Rakuzan member in the face to reside, but he was not someone to break down or pull off some other pathetic moves from a simple defeat, even though he was pushed and pulled around by little brats. He was stronger than that. Hayate should probably know that, especially after said guy had accidentally stumbled upon him making out with a teacher in the storage room in the final year in middle school. The absolute look of unfazed-ness, maybe with a hint of annoyance, on the greyhead's face of being disturbed at that time proved that he was not someone to be swayed by strong hits of emotions or panic.

Today's match was indeed a little exception for Mayuzumi as his team had actually managed to hit a raw nerve in him, but he was still composed enough to get away instead of blowing off on them.

"Are you serious?" Mayuzumi was kind of amused by the display of concern.

"Those brats were running on their high horses. Kinda glad your team lost, to be honest," Hayate confessed. Mayuzumi could not agree more.

"It was about time. Every fucking one of them deserved that reality slap," the grey-haired boy snapped. He still felt a surge of irritation whenever he thought about them.

"Actually, the moment they started ordering me around, I was done. I only waited for the time up," he continued. It felt nice to let it out, somehow, even though the other party in this conversation was completely unrelated to his situation.

"Sucks to be in your place."

The glare that Hayate received from the phantom player after his last statement effectively shut him up. The look on Mayuzumi's face was a fair warning; he had had enough of this talk now. The delinquent knew that it would be hard to get the greyhead into a conversation again. Mayuzumi clearly wanted his silence and privacy back, and Hayate decided to give the boy his space. He casually took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and proceeded to take out one. Looking up, he could see the player eyeing his movements. Without thinking twice, he extended his hand holding the pack near the other and offered.

"Want one?"

Mayuzumi _sighed_. He had convinced his mom after graduating middle school that he would hold off his thing for nicotine till he was actually legal for that shit. He even managed to pull out clean throughout his high school experience, successfully distracting himself with the sports and short novels. He quickly contemplated the pros and the cons of taking a drag now. He was turning eighteen in a couple of weeks, and was sure as hell that he was dropping out of the basketball club. He had already planned this move before the match, with the excuse of focusing on his exams and all but now that he had played his final match, he did not want to stick around that group of players anymore. He was not giving them any chance to mess with his pride again.

Mayuzumi reached out for one, much to the surprise of the other boy. Hayate raised his brows slightly at the action of the boy, but chose not to comment on it. He was going to respect that warning glare he received a while back.

"Got fire?" the grey-haired boy asked, ignoring the look of surprise on the delinquent's face.

"Y-yes."

Hayate wanted to punch himself for stuttering at such a time. He thought that the player would refuse the offer since, well, he was an athlete and all, but Mayuzumi decided to surprise him instead. Chihiro and his unexpected aloofness would never fail to amaze him. The delinquent took out a yellow lighter, flicked it up and lighted his own stick. After pulling in a long drag to make sure that it was lit, he handed the lighter to the other in the room while blowing out the smoke. Mayuzumi witnessed the whole thing while keeping his usual blank face, but in the inside, he was embracing the distraction. He was going to take a smoke after so long, especially in such an adrenaline-pumped, sensitive moment. He was pretty sure that the high would probably be worth it and calm his nerves quick.

Mayuzumi grabbed the lighter and mechanically proceeded to light the cigarette. He might have dropped the habit three years back, but he still remembered the proper way of handling it. It was a daily ritual back in middle school; bunking classes and sneaking out for a smoke. He remembered Hayate, or some other bunker accompanying him at times, but most of the time he was at his own disposition, savoring the silence and privacy. How he managed to rank among the top in school despite of his bitter personality and bad habits- he knew when to work hard and when to play hard. He was not a complete waste of a kid. In drastic situations, he called for drastic measures like smooching that old man in that filthy storage room.

The grey-haired boy leaned against the wall of the stairway more comfortably as he took in the first drag. He closed his eyes and kept the smoke inside for a couple of seconds to let the nicotine hit his system. _This feeling_ … felt so wrong yet right at the same time. The taste of the cigarette was bitter, just like the cheap brand it was but the high that accompanied it was _exquisite_ , to say the least. Brands be damned, Mayuzumi could finally feel his muscles relax as he let out the smoke. He opened his eyes to see Hayate observing him and raised one eyebrow when he met his graze. The delinquent instantly looked away and Mayuzumi could finally let himself unwind in all privacy.

Both teens kept silent while appreciating their smoke. Mayuzumi was finally feeling the high at its peak after dragging halfway through the cigarette. His toes and the tip of his fingers were tingling. His hands were slightly shaking, and the greyhead was glad that he was sitting on the stairs and leaning against the wall. If he was in the same standing position as the other smoker in the room, he would have probably been swaying or losing his balance from the high.

Mayuzumi grunted in annoyance when the phone of Hayate started vibrating loudly, interrupting his much appreciated silence. The standing boy muttered a swear under his breath, apologized quickly and left the worn-out player alone to answer the call. Finally, he had the privacy he was yearning for. He was not waiting for that particular moment to break some goddamn tears or sobs or anything like that; Mayuzumi just liked to be alone more than anything else. He found his time to heal, to grow, to just toughen up and face all the shit that went wrong in his life that way.

He quickly blew off the cigarette stick and dropped the butt down the stairs. The player kept still, closing his eyes and listening to his breath. He appreciated the peak of his induced-high feeling while it lasted. Seeing that the delinquent was not returning after some time, Chihiro stood up after the worse of his high passed. He slowly made his way back to the locker room. The smoke did calm him, but the fatigue after his heavy activities along with the loss of the high caught up to him. He was too tired to give a fuck about the players back in the room and was actually pleased to see that his entrance in the room went unnoticed.

Until one of the brats sniffed in the air and caught the foul smell of the cigarette smoke on him.

"Mayuzumi-san…"

Chihiro could hear the slight concern in Hayama's voice. He did not bother himself to glance around and missed the look of shock and confusion on everyone's face. They could not be pretending like they care about him now. He was too tired for all the concerned façade shit on their part. Mayuzumi wanted to spare himself of that and thus proceeded to gather his things for a quick shower instead of addressing to them. They were not his dad, they were not his friends- he had none of those in his life. He had every right of ignoring them and their pathetic little display of affection or care towards him. He was not going to get fooled by those little brats. Before he actually made it to the shower room, a knock was heard, followed by the appearance of Hayate's head between the gap of the door.

The delinquent completely ignored the glares from the rest of the team and focused of finding a particular person. The moment he spotted the familiar puff of grey hair, he sighed.

"Chihiro." He grabbed the attention of the said boy.

Mayuzumi placed his bag on the bench as he registered the voice. He turned in his direction and raised a brow in question.

"What now?" he shot. The tired boy was getting impatient while his muscles were basically screaming for a hot, fuming shower.

"I'm not letting you get away with my favorite lighter," Hayate quickly snapped back.

Mayuzumi chuckled in actual disbelief. He quickly fished in his pocket and took out the yellow lighter. He could hear one of the brats in the room grasp as the thing in his hand became visible. Thank god the head coach was nowhere in sight, he would have had some explaining to do if that was the case.

"Here. Take it," Chihiro quickly flung the object to Hayate, who caught it swiftly and made his exit.

Everyone remained frozen at the little scene except for the main actor in it. Mayuzumi went back to pick his stuffs for the shower while the others took their sweet time in digesting the new fact they found out about the senior player. Finally, one of them grew the balls to say the obvious.

"Chihiro-san… Do you smoke?" Akashi's calm and calculated voice resonated through the thick silence in the room.

Mayuzumi _scoffed_.

He did not usually smoke, _per se_. He definitely did not smoke while he trained hard for their games. But he was not going to be an athlete for long anymore. It was only a matter of time till he pick back the habit. Chihiro felt like he owned no explanation to the team.

"Take a guess."

With that, he was out of their sight.

 **Thank you for reading the story! Rate and reviews will be much appreciated~**


End file.
